How Creative Collisions Drive Innovation

“That’s the architectural invention of creative collisions, that you create architecture that allows these accidental ad hoc kind of meetings of minds and people to happen,” he said.

Take the learning spaces, for example. Under older teaching methods, one person stood in the front of a room and other people listened. It is a highly structured and hierarchical relationship, says Kleinman. In the new campus that will be blown apart. The spaces draw inspiration from artists’ studios, where groups work collaboratively and can critique one another’s work.

When the new campus was being designed, the team explored how these kinds of spaces functioned and looked at how such concepts could be applied to Cornell Tech’s needs. They asked questions such as: how do studios work? What kind of spaces qualify as jury space? What kind of surfaces? What kind of furniture?

The result is learning spaces which are open, flexible, and full of daylight. There are surfaces which are designed to be appealing to the touch.

From writing on the walls to moving furniture, learning spaces aren’t just vacant spaces for students to work on computers.

These design choices also reflect the innovative teaching styles at Cornell Tech. It also mirrors the interdisciplinary language used by staff, which might draw on a range of fields, including art education.

“That’s the architectural invention of creative collisions, that you create architecture that allows these accidental ad hoc kind of meetings of minds and people to happen…

In the new campus…”spaces draw inspiration from artists’ studios, where groups work collaboratively and can critique one another’s work. When the new campus was being designed, the team explored how these kinds of spaces functioned and looked at how such concepts could be applied to Cornell Tech’s needs. They asked questions such as: how do studios work? What kind of spaces qualify as jury space? What kind of surfaces? What kind of furniture?

The result is learning spaces which are open, flexible, and full of daylight. There are surfaces which are designed to be appealing to the touch.”